FARM AND GARDEN

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 219, 13 October 1893, Page 13 (Supplement)

FARM AND GARDEN

TRANSPLANTING. Conditions of Success —Puddling—Firming the Roots —Shortening Tops. In a wet season setting out plants in the open ground is an an easy matter, In which even amateurs may succeed. During a prolonged spell of heat and irought, such as is apt to come at the sea-

RECEPTACLE FOR STARTING EARLY PLANTS. son for setting late cabbages and celery plants, the gardener finds his skill put to a severe test. The most essential requirement, according to Greiner, is that the soil he moist—not wet and sticky, but so that it will readily crumble between the hands. If the soil be dry, it must be moistened by artificial watering, for planting in a dry soil, even if afterward watered, is usually fatal to the plants. A good rule is to always plant in freshly stirred soil. Many gardeners as well as fruit growers substitute for puddling dipping the roots of plants or trees in clear water just before setting them. This the authority quoted has found in his large experience to be superior to dipping in thin mud, or puddling, as it is called. Another indispensable requisite in successful transplanting is the thorough firming of the soil around the roots. It should be packed closely and tightly. Then draw a little loose soil over the firmed soil as a kind of mulch. Another sensible precaution observed in dry weather by Greiner and other successful gardeners is the trimming or shortening in of the tops of cabbage, celery and other plants previous to setting out. Celery plants with excessively long roots should have the tips cut off with a sharp knife. The first cut, a reproduction from Annals in Horticulture, shows a German invention in way of receptacle foi starting early plants. This consists of long strips

HOW TO CARRY OR STORE IN FLATS. of sacking or other cheap material, the sides of which are sewed together. See cut. Pieces of suitable length are cut from such rolls, filled with earth, and in them the seeds are sown. When transplanted, pots and all a-sa set in the soil. The second cut shows the method of carrying or storing these cloth pots in flats or trays. Cultural Notes on Potatoes. The subject of potatoes was thoroughly discussed at one of the last of the Wisconsin farmers’ institutes. Here are a few of the more important points gleaned from a report of this meeting: Superintendent Morrison said in regard to cutting seed that it is a question Df choice with the grower whether he would feed the young plant with the substance in a large seed piece or with extra fertilizer in the hill. He thought the fertilizer the cheaper. Mr. Martin said it was much easier to increase the quantity of yield than to increase the acres. He would never cut seed in advance of planting. Mr. T. W. Terry increases the yield per acre and decreases the cost of production of potatoes by making his land very rich and by using tools and horsepower in cultivation. He can grow the heaviest crop on any given area by hand planting, but not enough extra to pay for the extra expense. He makes it a rule never to let a weed see daylight, and he never lets the surface crust. Fie does the most of the fitting of his potato field after the crop has been planted. This prepares the ground just as effectively and so disturbs the surface that no weeds can grow. Professor Goff said there was no longer any more doubt that the bordeaux mixture, properly applied, would prevent blight, or that paris green would kill “bugs.” He favored the use of a more diluted mixture and in more copious quantity. Mr. Woodward of New York said that by cutting old potatoes into pieces and dipping them in a strong paris green water and scattering them about tlie field early millions of beetles would be killed. Tlie Stable Floor. John Gould says that the stable floor should be abolished in the cow barn—that is, the floor raised above the ground so that the cold air circulates beneath. Dr. Pitts of Fredericksburg has been laying the same thing of all stable floors. We believe, says E. C. Bennett, they have good sense on their side. Fill in with earth and sand so no water can leak in from the outside, lay the joists flat on this earth bed and lay the floor on them. For cows of course a gutter behind the standing place is needed. This makes a floor which will not break through when the planks are worn thin, and it will always be free from under drafts, adds The Farmers' Review, Duse Doesn’t Tike Crinoline. Mme. Duse, the famous Italian actress, gave an order to a local dressmaker for 10 dresses, stipulating that they be made in tlie latest style. Of course they were made with a stiff interlining reaching to the knees. She wore two of them and then returned the whole lot with the message: “Your crinolines wabble too much. I can’t control them. Take them all out and use the softest silk you can get for lining.”-